Getting ungated for FBA on Amazon.com
Do YOU sell FBA and do YOU want to get ungated on Amazon.com? Here are a few tips to help ensure your ungating application has the BEST chance of being accepted!
Did you know you DON'T have to get ungated to sell in the health & personal care category? This category used to be gated but now you may sell general health & personal care items without the ungating hassle. You will come up against a fair bit of sub-category gating but if you stay away from supplements and most topicals, you could be selling health and personal care items today!
You need 3 commercial invoices PER CATEGORY to submit an ungating application. Don't try getting your products from your nearest Walmart either as it has to be a proper wholesaler. Last we heard Price Masters were acceptable :-) although they do have a $200 minimum charge but what's that in comparison to what you could be making by getting ungated. It is always worth PHONING Amazon before you purchase any goods to ensure your wholesaler is accepted. Amazon won't give you the names of accepted wholesalers but if you call with a specific name they will often say YES or NO.
Do you know the BEST TIME to submit your request? During US business hours! Amazon OUTSOURCE the process later in the US day to places where English is not necessarily the first language so if you can get your application in EARLIER in the day, you stand a BETTER CHANCE OF SUCCESS!
Don't complicate the process of finding products to get you ungated with products that also need to make you a profit. It is tough enough finding products that match those on Amazon, are in stock, are from a proper wholesaler and are in the right Amazon category, without worrying about whether you can make a profit from them too. Look at getting ungated and selling in a gated category as two separate things. Maybe you can sell your ungating products on Amazon, but if you can't because maybe the margins aren't there after all those adorable FBA fees, sell them on ebay or at a local flea market or keep the products and use them up at home. We have enough shampoo in our garage to last a lifetime!
Most applications for ungating FAIL not because they have overlooked the big important things, but because they have OVERLOOKED the BASICS. They haven't matched the addresses on the invoice with the address in Amazon or what is on their business license, or they have submitted an order confirmation rather than a formal invoice. Check your basics!
Don't be afraid to resubmit if you think you have been incorrectly DECLINED. Go through your application and check every point and if it is correct, SUBMIT IT AGAIN! Sometimes it just needs a fresh pair of Amazon eyes to get that approval.
But most of all, DON'T let the negative reputation of the ungating progress put you off. It is EASY to get bogged down in how difficult it will be and PROCRASTINATE! GO FOR IT and you know what, you may just be accepted on your first application and find the whole process really simple and straightforward.
We will leave you with this quote, which we think sums up the ungating process entirely.
The secret of getting ahead is getting started – Mark Twain
